Sell Comic Books - How?
Nearly everyone enjoys a good comic book. If your not too familiar with Comic books and the typical superhero, I am sure you have seen them pop up in your local newspaper, from Li`l Abner, Steve Canyon, Dick Tracy, Spider-Man and of course Superman! If you were a kid once, I`m am sure you like hundreds of other kids rushed to grab what`s left of Dad sports reading or Mom looking for coupons to get hold the comics section and keep up with each week`s newest story. But comics go far beyond the daily newspaper - Comic Books have been around for over a century!
A Little History on Comic Books:
The first regularly printed comic book, was Famous Funnies. Released in the US in 1933. These comic book magazines as they were referred to back then was a reprinting of earlier newspaper humor driven comic strips, establishing many of today`s story-telling devices used in modern comics.
As a widely recognized print medium, the first comic like book existed in America with the printing of The
Adventures of Mr. Obadiah Oldbuck in 1842; hardcover, making it the American proto-comic type comic book.
Generally historians divide comics into a timeline, from the mid to late 1800`s up to today. These are what
are known as print eras, much the same as books are comparable to comics.
These are as follows:
Platinum Age: Comics of this era are very fragile and must be handled with extreme care especially if they are worn, deteriorating and valuable. These are pre-1938 comics between the era between 1897 - May,1938.
Golden Age: Golden Age Comics (1938-1955) are less fragile but still historically old, and highly valuable to collectors and sellers. These books include the first appearance of Superman in Action Comics #1-(1938), Detective Comics both published by DC Comics (Detective Comics abb). Detective Comics #27 (May 1939) featured the first appearance of Batman.
Because of its significant value, mass-appeal, allure and sentimental value - issue #27 is widely considered one of the most highly valued comic books in existence, with one copy selling for $1,075,000 in a February 2010 auction. In mid 2014 Ebay recently held an high profile auction for Action Comics No. #1 for the highest graded comic of this particular copy known. The winner bought it around $2.1 Million. making this the a publicly known auction for the beloved comic in recorded history, but not the most expensive.
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| Detective Comics #27 |
Since television and Radio were virtually unknown - people engaged in picking up the stories provided by these publications and back then everyone read comics.
A fan-base developed for Timely, which produced such characters as the Human Torch and Toro, Whizzer (a rival to DC`s Flash) The Sub-Mariner, Miss America, the Destroyer, the original Vision, and the Angel. During WWII publishers churned out editions to support War efforts for American Troops fighting overseas, with such characters as Captain America (Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941)), which comes with a hefty price tag in today's market with a good copy at a high grade. Both publishers as well as others comic book publications focused on winning war efforts and the majority of the books were sent overseas to US troops.
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| Action Comics #1 (1938) |
Because of eventual deterioration of older Golden-Age and Platinum-Age books, reprints abound. But they are expensive to reproduce; such that the originating publisher must purchase an actual copy and reprint it so as to produce an ROI (Return On Investment) which may or may not make a substantial impact on sales provided that copies are selling through the publisher and publisher statistics.
In such a case a comic book publisher should have other titles selling to make up the difference for any foreseeable losses on such reprints, which, advisably, a publisher would be smart not put all his eggs in one basket.
This is the thing about reprints (especially golden-age reprints that many people do not understand and disregard reprints as not worthy of collecting, selling or re-selling, they do not consider what the publisher does to make those reprints as such they simply do not have older copies just lying around to reproduce. Groups of Heroes, heroines and joined in on the war effort often producing ads which reflected the stories surrounding characters except for sub-mariner an anti-hero.
All-Winners (all winners #19 esp.) Marvel Mystery Comics, Captain Marvel, The Flash,Wonder Woman,Green Lantern, the Atom, Hawk-man, Green Arrow, and Aqua-man. After the war sales slowly drooped, and the focus shifted away from superheroes to romance,humor,westerns and TV personalities.
During this time heavy scrutiny came over horror books as being common trash that might be potentially harmful to youth, which later turned out to be false. The US senate stepped in and Voila! The comics code authority (CCA) was born! The majority of publishers were forced to abide by the comics code authority up until around 1972 when Stan-Lee published amazing spider-man #89 -#91 all three focused on the dangers of drugs, but the CCA did not approve of the issue but stan lee published any way and soon thereafter the CCA was debunked although it is still used today.
Fans of comic books and collectors have been poked at as being comic book geeks or nerds, but mind you comic book collecting is no laughing matter - it`s expensive especially for key issues which tell a particular story about a character, a first appearance of another character, his or her`s lost love, untimely death of loved ones or a dastardly villain who went on to become famous.
Silver Age: Silver Age Comic Books (1956–1970) was an era of artistic advancement and commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those in the superhero genre. These books yielded characters that we know and have seen growing up,the fantastic four, superman,super boy, hawk-man, the Incredible Hulk, Batman comics, Silver Surfer, The Mighty Thor, Doctor Strange, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Uncanny X-Men and Daredevil. DC Produced Superman`s Pal Jimmy Olsen, Superman`s Girlfriend Lois Lane, Green Lantern, Adventure Comics, Superman, The Brave and the Bold, Justice League of America,Adventure Comics and Showcase.
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| Flash #123 Classic Cover |
Bronze Age: Superheros, their adventures and lives change dramatically resulting not only in more key issues, but pivotal points in the character`s life /enemy battles or to find a cure. Spider-Man`s potential wife, Gwen Stacy, was murdered at the hands of the Green Goblin, (ASM #121).
The Incredible Hulk after several appearances in different titles (like Fantastic Four #25 and #26) was granted a recurring theme starting in Tales to Astonish #59 back from when he originally appeared in 1962 in a 6-issue shot into his own series ending TTA books at #101 whereupon the tale from issue #101 continues in the premiere issue of Incredible Hulk #102. (Marvel seems to do this frequently with a lot of books, splitting up stories in 2-parts).
Eventually, Incredible Hulk fights and wins against a barrage of villains, as well as the continuing sympathetic struggle of Doctor Bruce Banner to find a cure to his disability; most notably the battle with Wolverine leading wolverine to join forces with the X-men in his first debut with issue #180 and #181 of Incredible Hulk.
Conan the Barbarian spawned Red Sonja, Batman and Robin became as serious as ever with artist Neal Adams who disposed of comical show themes which drove down sales of Batman comics to a more serious beat that drove sales up. Writers like Denny O`Neil at DC helped sales with Superior stories, with these new stories,back-plots and more enticing stories and covers sales could not be better; producing even more new characters to add to what is now known as the Marvel and DC Universes.
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| The Cat #1 (AKA TIGRA)/(1972) |
In 1985 DC dissolved it`s continuity to resolve per-crisis problems in it`s continuity (i.e., superman could not originally fly)/(Jimmy Olsen timeline was erased and many things he originally did, did not occur) With DC Comics production, a 12-issue story-line of books called Crisis on Infinite Earths (later gaining popularity)) in which all universes were mysteriously merging/being torn apart and DC superheros from all across universes fought together to survive - altering the DC universe timeline.
Original characters die, SuperGirl of Earth-one dies, a different version of superman from another universe battles it out without a second thought for life, Batman loses his sanity when he sees Barry Allen cry out for help from another plane, universes collide and everyone flips out; it being beyond their pay-grade. The new universe erasing the old continuum.
In addition to this X-men revived and Teen Titans returned, while BlackHawk went on sabbatical. Hulk B/W Magazine appeared and the western version of Ghost Rider would transform into a fire-head demon with magical powers and a motorcycle with powers to defeat evil from the Devil himself.
A broad list of books were released during this era in which villains and mainstream characters either were killed-off (such is the case with Ulysses BloodStone who dies in issue #8 of the Rampaging Hulk published under a Marvel imprint Curtis magazines. One wiki in general cant seem to get the first appearances and deaths straight. For example the first appearance of TIGRA in a 4-issue limited run entitled The Cat (1972). Future artist Frank Miller (sin City, etc) writes a letter to Marvel and is printed in issue #3, not issue #4. So many titles were printed that just to name them all, you`ll have to go online.
The rest of the eras are the copper age and modern age, although the atomic age has yet to be included in historians ideas of eras.
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Grades:
Comic Books are "graded" for the purpose of sales and value and that is that. This depends mostly on wear and tear to condition in which a knowledgeable collector/seller can identify the grade by the condition of the book. If you are not knowledgeable enough to know what year, key issue or not a book is all about and your not sure comic book dealers exist to serve you to do an estimation of the grade of your books.If the books you have have been tucked away and suddenly rediscovered after grandpa passed away, you may have a large or small fortune on your hands depending on the condition,the year and the grade.
(Buyers negotiate prices down, so don`t trust them they will turn around and sell it for a higher ROI).
Grades are as follows:
1.0 - 1.5 - PR/GD- (poor/good-). These are books of very low grade,have been used or read often and handled inappropriately. These books have tears, creases, missing pages,torn pages, cover-less pages, chunks, or be exposed to moisture or so far gone they can`t even be restored.
2.0-2.5 - FR/GD (Fair/Good). This grade is better and the book may have rips up the spine, rolled spines, pieces missing cracked spines, multiple crease to the cover, or multiple damages -but is salable. This is where comics go to buyer of various key issues when they cannot afford higher condition grades of books.
3.0-3.5 - (GD+/?). These grades of comics have less wear and may have cracked spines showing near ripping of spine away from book, or just a cracked spine (meaning it`s been read quite a bit or handled wrong). The cover usu. is almost entirely free of missing pieces but due to age/browning or other factors may eventually fall apart and may have a piece absent from the back. Interior pages are intact and comics is readable but not dirty, may have some browning but is applicable for a buyer or collector and can be priced a bit higher.
4.0-4.5 -(Very Good/Very Good+). Cover is usu. absent from damage except one small tear or crease. Spine is intact and comic interior is cream to off white. Indicating previous owner took care of books and handled them appropriately, depending on what condition it was beforehand. May fetch higher price or even.
5.0-5.5 - (VG/Fine-). These conditions have little to no spine wear interior and exterior are complete and damage is noticeable but may have 1 small crease or a piece absent from back or interior.
6.0-6.5 - (Fine+/Very Fine-). Now were talking! These are average grades and fetch higher price tag for DC comics in silver age as opposed to Marvel Silver age. DC Golden key issue go for higher because they were passed around a lot especially older war comics. These books, depending on the issue have more sentimental value that guide value and therefore should be more difficult to acquire from a serious collector as he or she will not part with it without an ROI equal to the original purchase price or a decent profit. Fast talkers and scammers will come out of the woodwork if they think they can one over on a serious collector who doesn`t know what they got.
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| Buy the Latest Edition of the Comic Book Price Guide (2016-17) CBPG |
However a collector who does will not bargain and will plainly tell you he wants to sell it for sentimental reasons or out of necessity to acquire capitol. Pay his or her price, you can always resell and help the seller at the same time. If you go strictly by the CBPG you`ll get nowhere.
7.0-7.5 - (Very Fine-/Very Fine). Books of this type are quality grade because the condition shows little sign of usage although it perhaps was but the original owner either put the book-(s) away after a full read-(s) or knew what he/she was doing and handled the book properly. In other words a serious collector. These books, depending on the era and issue (say superman 41) or X-Men #10)) should be sent off to CGC Comics Guaranty Company (an umbrella of NGC (Coin grading company)), professionally Graded (ha! I don`t think so!) and encapsulated for external protection. (mummification for selling purposes or collecting only since you can never read it every again unless you crack it open).
8.0-8.5 - (Very Fine+). Graders of comic books seem to disagree on what constitutes an actual grade from another grade even when you think it is something else end it even seems graded wrong by CGC. Up or Down.
9.0-9.8 - (Near Mint-/Mint). Looks almost brand new off the newsstand. Well taken care of and usu. read carefully and protected and handled properly by a preior owner. May Fetch a hig price depending on the issue and age.
10 - (Hens Teeth). if you see a silver age key issue graded by CGC comics in this condition it is very,very,very,very rare. Even if your grandpa`s brother bought em when he was younger, your just not going to get the freshest comics -not even off the news rack, most usu. they have to come right off the press and right onto a magic carpet and into CGC offices. What luck, you have a time machine!
CGC Comics:
CGC Comics are encapsulated comic books, in much the same way that CGC`s parent company NGC coin grading are encased to graded to protect valuable coins: preserving the value of the book by disabling the book from being read or handled incorrectly. CGC along with other slabbing companies are somewhat at odds since their presence on the market is debatable as a sham. Similar to a bet you put behind a pass line wager at a craps table. A come on. Many comic fans do not like slabbing companies because they feel that comic books are for reading; CGC disposes of this and serious collectors disregard their so-called grading since no one book can be grading with 100% accuracy.
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| eBay Sticker Shock: Sub-mariner Comics #1 -(1941)(/5.5) |
It becomes obvious then, that if collectors and re-sellers take care of and handle comics (or anyone else`s for that matter) correctly slabbed comics become unnecessary. Prices for CGC and other slabbed comics have NO centralized price scale except with respect to what the comic book price guide indicates the actually price is, according to the grade for an un-slabbed comic book. On eBay alone the ridiculous nature of these prices become immediately obvious to any person with a knowledge of comic prices and it appears there`s no end to it.
Explaining the whole kit and caboodle of CGC comics and slabbing companies presence and influence on the Market and eBay will take way too long for this post. You may learn more by watching this 3-part video playlist from Eidie`s Entertainment TV from youtube:
Buying Comics:
If your just getting into comic collecting or you have already have a collection or even inherited one ,you should have a good idea of what you want and what your investing in. Say you want at least a 5.0 of Supes #43 (1946) and you have the capitol; unless your a sucker for CGC comics - buy them outright and examine the issue carefully before purchasing. DO NOT TAKE THE BOOK OUT OF THE COMIC BOOK BAG YOURSELF IN FRONT OF THE LOCAL SELLER OR DEALER; this will irritate the seller.
Ask if you can have a better look at the book by asking the seller to take it out of the comic book bag. If everything looks cool pay with cash. Try not go haywire with your money and be polite around collectors who know a thing or two about their own books they want to sell off. Negotiating will upset the seller more than handling one of his or her books incorrectly.
Sellers who dont own a comic book shoppe are pretty well attached to their books, so say he/she says $600.00
for Marvel Spotlight #5 at 7.0 then don`t argue if you cant locate the book anywhere else and dont play the
authority,the seller will slam the door in your face.
So what`s $10 or $20 dollars more? - Hey! You got the book and you paid for it. Now you own a classic item that if taken care of, will perhaps be worth a lot more when your grandchildren grow up, or after you pass away and leave them in your will. They can then use them to their advantage and resell those books at ten or even 20 times the original value when you first got them as well as any other books you may have collected.
They may even pass them down as an heirloom to their grandchildren. Unlike other hobbies Comic Book collecting IS AN EXPENSIVE past-time. Moreover it`s more of a self-centered endeavor. (as in, "if you go down to my basement and read an old book, you`d better have a radiation suit on when you do") Comic book stories,art and key issues are well worth it the investment. Collecting is almost like any other hobby, getting full runs in a series is the problem for many a collector. So if you actually acquire a full run of say Action Comics vol 1, my hat is off to you.
Tell ya what- if you do, that`s one hell of an accomplishment! Pay what he or she asks for unless it is 3 or 4 times the guide price (unless it is CGC) because a local seller may have originally bought it for say $588.00, you must take into consideration that in addition to that a purchase price, this includes sales tax and possible shipping charges that add up, assuming it was bought online. if not it is still the owner`s right to make a decent profit from any sale without resorting to CBPG prices otherwise the seller cannot make a profit.
Buy from Comic Shoppes:
Comic Book Shops that survived the Seventies and have a good selection are worth going to, not only for the latest book, but back issues and key issues. Unlike a seller who you contacted through Craigslist, c-shops also have statues and other memorabilia that pass through their hands -some of which they order through a distributor or have purchased to resell and make an ROI. In a good store you find what your looking 80% of the time.
Buying Comics Online:
Now we get into the brunt of the matter.
When you buy online there several copies to choose from, and you should have a current version of the comic book price guide: you may purchase one on Amazon by following the link here:
The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide Volume 46
A current version of the comic book price guide to refer to will aide you in determining what the actual price is for a particular book grade is even when you are scanning through listings of CGC,PGX and CBCS slabbed comics as many-a-seller are completely in the dark about how to properly price the book or books and what the actual condition of a book is. If you do a check on eBay on CGC comics, on a specific title on a character-(s), you soon discover that a majority of CGC comic book sellers sell books the book or books (a lot) at exorbitant prices, insanely overpriced at 4x,5x and even 9x the CBPG price.
As if due to the encapsulation and CGC so-called professional grade it is somehow worth more when it really isn`t -the price is still the same regardless of mummification by a comic book slabbing company by and so-called professionally graders of CGC and others. This is what makes sellers and re-sellers irritate serious collectors, because they already know that the book isn`t worth the price specified in the listing with respect to the CBPG, and that is why it is imperative to have a current edition of the CBPG. Otherwise a seller can take advantage of an inexperienced buyer usually ripping him or her off in the process.
This is called a price war, the other end of the price war is when sellers try to get a book sold at the least expensive price possible for an un-slabbed, graded comic book or books. The seller drives down the price below the suggested CBPG saturating the market with a plethora of emulators who also do the same, the lowest price gets sold and eventually prices are driven down to such a degree that everyone involved go belly up failing at a bottom line profitable business selling on eBay.
This saturation ruins the market for others who are trying to make a profit online because when they come into the online platform and price their books appropriately, no one wants to buy it because all the other people saturating the market with a price war driving down the actual price just to get a a few pennies less - it`s a sad fact but complete idiocy. Look for reputable sellers or sellers with a decent rack record. The only problem with buying online is how slow or fast delivery time is and how absent-minded the local mail carriers are without you having to run to USPS or other carrier to pick up the book on your day off.
You will also find newer grading companies that have recently joined the mummification of comics online. These include CBCS comics and PGX comics. It has been reported and I have seen one video of disreputable grading and various pages were either missing or the book-(s) were trimmed. CGC is the only one you should trust, but many of the other encapsulated books by the other competitors are a tad cheaper but not much.
Unless you enjoy buying CGC and other encapsulated comics, sellers and consignors jack up the price in ridiculous way, some even go as high as 12x the price guide price even if the book is not a key issue. These guys will send anything in to CGC just to make a higher profit on the books, even though any serious collector can grade, and take care of the book without CGC comics. Savvy buyers know how to spot fly by night sellers/let it slide sellers and avoid comic book consignors especially on platforms like eBay and amazon. However there are some good sellers out there -look for ones with a connecting comic book shop. HERE are the top picks for buying online.
1. mycomicshop.com
Best place in my opinion for shopping for comic book, huge selection, lots of consignors and will almost
always have what your looking for.
2. Edie`s entertainment eBay Super-fast out the door delivery. Based in Pittsburgh,PA and one of the oldest comic book shops in America. All positive reviews. no negative as of this post. http://www.eides.com/ 1121 Penn Ave Pittsburgh PA 15222 Phone: (412) 261-0900 Fax: (412) 261-3102 STORE HOURS: Monday-Thursday 9:30-7:00; Friday 9:30-9:00; Saturday 9:30-6:30; Sunday 10:00-5:30.
3. Geoffreys-Comics eBay.
Good seller, sluggish delivery. Mixed reviews. Gardena, CA.
www.geoffreyscomics.com/
15900 Crenshaw Blvd. Suite BGardena, CA 90250; (310) 538-3198.
4. Quality Comix eBay. Somewhat out of proportion prices for books, but generally have something when you cannot locate anywhere else. Base Of Operations Prattville, Al. www.qualitycomix.com/ 153 West Main Street Prattville, Al. 36067 Hours of Operation: 10am - 6pm on weekdays; 10am - 5pm on Saturday; Ph: 334-730-1344.
5. Comicconnect (metropolis Comics) wide selection to choose from neatly priced. register and you get auctions every month sent to your email. 36 W 37 St., Fl 6 New York, NY 10018. TOLL FREE: 888.779.7377; INT'L. P: 001.212.895.3999; F: 212.260.4304.
6.Heritage Auctions: Legit and sometimes expensive auction house for fanciful comic buyers -you`ll pay buddy, you`ll pay... 3500 Maple Ave., 17th Floor Dallas, Texas 75219-3941; 877-HERITAGE (437-4824); (214) 528-3500; Fax: (214) 409-1425.
Beware of consignors in all online transactions as such sellers overprice books.
Selling Comics:
There are several ways to go about selling your comics.Craigslist. Post and ad and your ready - and get ready to get blasted by txt messages galore, scammers, and unrelated calls out of state CL is a haven for crime, con artists and potential crooks. Stay Local. I placed an ad selling some books and had Marvel Spotlight #5 stolen this way even though the creep paid me $400.00. Oh, well there are more copies available. If your selling on craigslist, your going to get negotiators. Refuse price negotiations in your ad and be ready for wack-a-loons and fast talkers. Just be acteful here OK?
mycomicshop.com An Excellent way to sell books online through their consignment service. Consignment Fees apply for every book sold:
10% commission on sales less than $300, with a minimum commission of $5.00 per item sold.
8% commission on sales of $300 up to $2999.99.
6% commission on sales of $3000 or more.
eBay Platform:
eBay is a good arena for deals., to make a decent ROI or profit -you will need tp acquire a PayPal account since everyone uses it who sells on eBay. Starting out is slow and you have to politely call PayPal or eBay to lift limits upon the amount of listings you want as well as faster payoff time to your bank. listing takes considerable time, even with eBay Turbo Lister2. It is a grind, but many have churned out very lucrative careers selling online. My advice, good luck; it`s an uphill battle starting out but can be done provided to have a large selection to choose from.Amazon Comic Books:
Amazon Comic Books
Amazon will allow you to sell comics yourself or via Amazon FBA, in the collectible books category that is IF, I repeat IF you get approved for their Categories and Products Requiring Approval. You must first sign-up for a seller account and provide accurate information, it`s really simple. If you haven`t made a sale on Amazon they`ll reject you and their goes your whole plan to send your collection to Amazon FBA. Used to be OK selling on Amazon, but recently when this overly-paranoiac program came around, resulting in an unfair advantage against FBA sellers being rejected to ordinary honest sellers -someone should actually sue amazon over this. Amazon does not want co-mingling of products (blah-blah-blah so they dish out this and it is entirely wrong -guess their warehouses are so packed they cannot maneuver inside.
Other than this Amazon is the largest online retailer and commands a good chunk of the internet selling area. Personally I don`t enjoy their approach to online sellers and consignors, but they do have other good programs and you can sell your own stuff there even without Amazon FBA.
Weather your a Buyer or seller or both, comic books can be very,very lucrative.
